TikTok has rapidly evolved from a platform for dancing teens and comedic sketches to a global marketplace where brands of all sizes can cultivate direct, authentic relationships with audiences. What distinguishes businesses that are winning on TikTok is not simply their willingness to participate, but how they leverage the platform’s unique culture, tools, and algorithms to drive engagement and growth.
The Influence of Genuine Connection: Narratives Instead of Sales
On TikTok, traditional advertising often falls flat. Users gravitate toward content that feels organic and relatable, which means businesses that behave more like creators than corporations tend to flourish. For example, Ryanair, a low-cost airline, amassed millions of followers by transforming the brand into a relatable character. By using trending sounds, humorous filters, and self-aware commentary on flight delays and travel anxieties, Ryanair turns customer complaints into comedic content. This approach positions the airline as approachable and human, rather than just another faceless corporation.
Instead of straightforward product promotions, companies thriving on TikTok create content focused on storytelling. Smaller enterprises often share sneak peeks of their operations: the production process of items, daily activities, or genuine responses to client feedback. The hashtag #smallbusiness has accumulated over 109 billion views, highlighting the demand for this candid and unedited viewpoint. For example, café proprietors such as Kleins Coffee in the US tell tales about their family traditions or spotlight the “Coffee of the Day,” fostering deep connections that extend beyond the products.
Embracing Trends and Challenges: Agility Pays Off
Virality on TikTok is fueled by trends and challenges—formats that level the playing field for brands regardless of marketing budget. Duolingo, a language-learning app, signals the potential of this strategy. Their approach centers around the company’s green owl mascot interacting with trends, memes, and cultural moments in a playful, sometimes irreverent fashion. Duolingo’s TikTok channel regularly achieves millions of views by responding swiftly to trending sounds or viral jokes, proving that relevance and speed are major assets.
This agility extends to retail. Beauty brands like Fenty Beauty and The Ordinary have succeeded not by pushing products, but by reacting to viral makeup challenges, responding to user questions, and sharing creative tutorials that demystify skincare routines. Their willingness to hand creative control to TikTok creators, empowering authentic voices to experiment with products, enhances credibility and drives virality.
User-Generated Content as Growth Engine
Another hallmark of successful TikTok businesses is embracing user-generated content (UGC). Brands like Chipotle intentionally create campaigns designed for replication, such as their #LidFlip challenge, which encouraged users to flip burrito bowl lids and showcase their own Chipotle orders. Such campaigns not only generate buzz but also allow the brand’s reach to extend organically as users remix, react, and reinterpret the original content.
UGC also bolsters community-based marketing for smaller companies. For example, Bala Bangles, a fitness accessory brand, gained significant popularity when TikTok influencers showcased inventive exercise routines using their products. This exposure led to a ripple effect, with the brand’s sales increasing as trending videos encouraged numerous replications and favorable feedback.
Utilizing TikTok Shopping and Collaborations with Influencers
The emergence of TikTok Shop and smooth shopping integrations has led to notable changes in the marketplace. Businesses using TikTok’s built-in e-commerce features experience simplified transitions from finding products to buying them. For instance, fashion brand ASOS employs try-on hauls, “get ready with me” clips, and live shopping sessions to present products in an authentic manner, encouraging swift purchases directly within the app.
Influencer partnerships remain pivotal as well. Brands like Glow Recipe align with skincare influencers whose honest product reviews and demonstrations spark viral trends and sustained conversations about ingredient transparency. This transparent, peer-to-peer marketing is particularly potent among Gen Z and millennial demographics.
Various Industries Achieving Success
The winning formula is not exclusive to a single industry. A spectrum of sectors is thriving:
Learning: EdTech companies like Study Smarter along with science communicators such as Hank Green simplify intricate subjects into engaging and easy-to-understand insights, transforming education into an enjoyable and shareable experience.
Finance: Financial literacy creators work with fintech brands, explaining investment basics or demystifying credit scores through skits, turning a traditionally dry subject into accessible advice.
Food & Beverage: Local bakeries and international chains alike thrive with recipe demonstrations, taste tests, and customer reaction videos that tempt viewers into placing online orders.
Data and Case Analyses: Assessing Influence
Data supports TikTok’s role in business success. According to TikTok’s 2023 “What’s Next” report, 38% of users globally have purchased a product after seeing it on the platform. A notable case is Little Moons, a UK-based mochi ice cream brand, which saw a 700% increase in supermarket sales after a viral TikTok video pointed users to where the product could be found. The “TikTok made me buy it” phenomenon exemplifies the platform’s capacity to catalyze commercial trends overnight.
Another investigation conducted by Marketing Dive found that campaigns utilizing influencers on TikTok achieved almost twice the engagement compared to those on Instagram or Facebook, particularly in the sectors of beauty, fashion, and food. The common factor: Successful businesses synchronize their messages with the dynamic, creator-focused environment of the platform.
The business of tomorrow
Enterprises thriving on TikTok are the ones who understand and adopt the platform’s environment of sincerity, quickness, and community involvement. They view each video as a chance to tell stories, rather than just to promote products. By combining innovation with adaptability and prioritizing authentic interaction over traditional advertising, these firms engage users in a shared, ever-changing brand story. Achieving success on TikTok focuses less on capturing attention and more on collaboratively shaping significance with an engaged and enthusiastic audience.
